Ancient Architecture Trivia

1. In general, a classical order can be divided into base, column (which may be subdivided as shaft and capital), and which other element?

From Quiz Orders of Architecture

Answer: Entablature

The entablature itself is divided into an architrave, a frieze and a cornice. The capital is where the greatest differences between the orders lies, although they also differ in proportions, and in the style of each element. Styles also varied over time and between different areas. Different orders were associated with different types of building, but all these rules were adapted to specific conditions. The Parthenon, for instance, combines elements of the Doric and Ionic orders very successfully.

From Quiz Egyptian and Ancient Architecture Terms

Answer: Dead bodies

Mastabas were used as burial structures. They started off as below-ground pits, then were built up into mounds to prevent robbery of the graves. These eventually evolved into the massive pyramids easily recognizable and automatically associated with Egyptian architecture.

From Quiz Orders of Architecture

Answer: Doric

Doric is the oldest and most popular of the Greek orders of architecture. The columns are closely placed, without bases, and with fluted shafts. The capital has a cuboid abacus and simple mouldings. The Roman Doric order is similar, but has thinner columns with bases and slightly different mouldings.

From Quiz Orders of Architecture

Answer: Ionic

While the Doric was said to be based on the proportions of an ideal man's body, Ionic was the feminine order. It is thinner, in proportion to its height, than the Doric, has a stepped base and typically a sculpted frieze. The Roman version was similar, but even more elaborately decorated. The Greeks tended to use the Ionic order for smaller buildings and interiors.

From Quiz Orders of Architecture

Answer: Aeolic

The Greeks borrowed many of their ornaments from other cultures, and the rare Aeolic order shows how they came to influence the Ionic order. The Aeolic order, like the Doric, had no base, but its capitals had scrolled volutes, like the Ionic order. In the Aeolic more than the Ionic, these resemble rams' horns, with a palm leaf inserted between them, in a clear allusion to Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Assyrian styles. The Aeolic order was quickly replaced by the Ionic.

From Quiz Egyptian and Ancient Architecture Terms

Answer: A tomb without a body.

A cenotaph is an empty tomb, erected in honor of a dead ruler.

From Quiz Orders of Architecture

Answer: Acanthus

The Corinthian order, the third great Greek order, was developed later than the Ionic and Doric orders. Although it was developed in Athens, it was rarely used by the Greeks, but the Romans valued it highly and further embellished it.

From Quiz Egyptian and Ancient Architecture Terms

Answer: It counteracts the optical illusion of concavity that would result without entasis.

Architects employ many techniques to counteract optical illusions, and entasis is one of them.

From Quiz Orders of Architecture

Answer: Tuscan

The Tuscan order was developed by the Romans, but they regarded it as unimportant, and no Roman examples remain. Based on Etruscan architecture (which itself was a translation of early Greek architecture), it had an unfluted column, and minimal mouldings provided the only decoration. The simplicity of the order led to its popularity in the Renaissance.

From Quiz Egyptian and Ancient Architecture Terms

Answer: A horizontal circular opening

There is a famous oculus at the height of the Pantheon's dome. Oculi are good sources for natural light (perhaps a precursor to today's skylights).

From Quiz Orders of Architecture

Answer: Ionic and Corinthian

The Romans developed the Composite order, and regarded it as the most elaborate style, suitable for the likes of triumphal arches. Its capital is often very richly carved, and in some ways reminiscent of the Aeolic style.

From Quiz Orders of Architecture

Answer: Caryatids

Atlantes (or telamones) are the male equivalent of Caryatids, while female figure carrying baskets are known as canophorae. Herms are three-quarter length human figures, while Terms are three-quarter length animal figures. Used in Classical architecture, they regained popularity in the baroque period, where in a development of the Renaissance, buildings were adorned with complex shapes and carvings.

From Quiz Orders of Architecture

Answer: Doric

The Romans codified the orders, and also developed square columns, called pilasters, and half-columns, attached to a wall. They established regular proportions for the different orders, and appropriate spacings between columns. Where multiple columns were required, they were arranged with the simplest (Doric, or in the Renaissance, Tuscan) at the bottom, then through Ionic and Corinthian to the most dramatic, Composite order on the top storey.

From Quiz Orders of Architecture

Answer: Vitruvius

The Twelve Books of Marcus Vitruvius Pollo are the only surviving contemporary book on classical architecture. They set out not only the classical orders, and their uses, but every other matter related to architecture, from the different styles of brickwork to siting and planning a town. From his works, rediscovered in the fifteenth century, and observations of surviving classical buildings, architects from the Renaissance onwards were able to build new buildings. Ever-changing interpretations of the orders leave a tremendous legacy for us today.

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Last Updated Oct 18 2025 5:50 AM

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